It Takes A Thief
The Bible says, "thou shalt not covet" (Exodus 20:17). But what does it mean to "covet"? Coveting means to desire someone else's things or to desire things you do not need. Sure, you need many things in life. You need to eat. You need to wear clothing. You need somewhere to sleep at night. But when you desire what you do not need or for what belongs to someone else, you are being covetous, which is a sin.
The attitude of the thief is, "what's mine is mine, and what's yours is also mine". The thief says, "give it me now: and if not, I will take it by force." (I Samuel 2:16) The attitude of the thief is selfish, pure and simple. Of course, there is an obvious problem with trying to take away someone else's things by force: he or she will resist you, or get the police to arrest you if you try it.
Some thieves seek to get around this "problem" of victim resistance. Their solution is to enter into someone's house or apartment through a back door, or perhaps through a window. Such a thief figures that he can "sneak in" and commit thievery in the middle of the night, and therefore avoid getting caught. Nevertheless, thieves generally do get caught sooner or later. As with other sins, crime does not pay.
Years ago, some men broke into a Watergate Hotel room. No, they were really not trying to steal money or personal possessions. Instead, they were trying to steal some medical information about a man -- information which they hoped would hurt that man's reputation and then "ruin" him politically. These "Watergate Burglars" paid for their crimes by spending many years in prison.
Jesus was crucified between two thieves. The first of these thieves held on to his sins and went to Hell. The other thief turned to Jesus from his sins and trusted Jesus and was saved. The Bible says:
"Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left." (Matthew 27:38)
"And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise." (Luke 23:39-43)
But the night before Jesus' crucifixion, another thief was mentioned. This thief's name was Judas Iscariot. Now, Judas was a religious leader. In fact, Judas had an high position in the church, as the "Church Treasurer" and was an assistant to Jesus. Nevertheless, Judas thought that he could reach in and steal money out of the church treasury "bag". Later, Judas's covetousness led him to sell Jesus for the price of a common slave: thirty pieces of silver.
Crime does not pay. You don't get away with sin in the end, and Judas did not get away with his wicked sin of stealing. Judas was called the "Son of Perdition", and he died and went down into the flames of Hell where he is still burning today. The Bible says that covetous people and thieves like Judas are on the road to Hell. The Bible says:
"Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God." (1 Corinthians 6:9-10)
If you are a thief, even if you are a deacon in a Baptist Church, you are on the road to Hell, no matter how religious you are. If you are a thief, you are wicked and selfish and have been "mean" to your neighbor by trying to steal things from your neighbor. You are very guilty before God, and deserve to go to Hell as punishment by God for your wicked sin of thievery.
Stop trying to justify your wicked sins, such as sins of covetousness and stealing. Judas was religiously zealous, but his "religiousness" did not keep Judas out of the flames of Hell. Your religious deeds won't keep you out of Hell either.
Instead, you need to come to Jesus and let Him forgive your sins. If you do come and trust Jesus then Jesus will do for you what He did for that second thief on the cross - He will give you a mansion in Heaven when you die. So why continue on in your thievery? Why go to Hell? Trust Jesus instead, and may God bless you as you do it!
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